Arsenal: Five worst Arsene Wenger signings

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger will go down as one of the greatest managers ever to grace the beautiful game, despite his recent dip.

However, some of his dealings in the transfer market have been abysmal to say the least.

The Frenchman has had his fair share of great signings with the likes of Thierry Henry and Robert Pires, but let's focus on his not so successful signings at Arsenal.

Francis Jeffers

Jeffers is perhaps Arsene Wenger’s worst ever signing, and was probably Arsenal’s worst ever signing in their illustrious history. The young Englishman was signed for a hefty £8m in 2001 after Thierry Henry urged Wenger to capture a ‘fox in the box’ following an FA Cup defeat to Liverpool.

To cut a long story short, Jeffers managed to score only four goals in 22 Premier League games for the Gunners. He was eventually shipped out to Charlton Athletic in 2004.

The 32-year-old currently plies his trade in English fourth tier for Accrington Stanley.

Mikael Silvestre

Arsene Wenger invested £300k to purchase the ex-Manchester United defender whose best days were clearly behind him.

Arsenal paid the price for their poor investment with a series of clumsy and comical defensive displays against the likes of Barcelona and Spurs during his two-year stint with the London club.

In 2010, Silvestre was released by the Gunners, and eventually secured a move to German club Werder Bremen.

Marouane Chamakh

In his first six months at Arsenal, Marouane Chamakh’s time at the Emirates Stadium could be judged as a success. However, it has been downhill for the Moroccan over the past 18 months, during which he has transformed from a feared talisman to a clown.

He fell down the pecking order and become little more than a bit-part player for the Gunners - and when given a chance to showcase his talents, he displayed a lack of confidence and composure to score goals from his team.

Wenger shipped him out on loan to West Ham. It is fair to assume that we might never see him in an Arsenal shirt again.

Richard Wright

Arsene Wenger splashed out £6m for the goalkeeper and was viewed as the long-term replacement to legend David Seaman. Despite being drafted in to play second fiddle to Seaman, the expectation was the he was the future of Arsenal’s defence.

Unfortunately, Wright failed up to live up to his reputation with some disastrous displays for the Gunners before being sold.

Wright has since gone on to play for Everton, West Ham, Southampton, Ipswich, Sheffield United and Preston North End.

Sebastien Squillaci

Arsenal’s fans were crying out for an experience defender in the summer of 2011, someone who could improve their poor defence.

Wenger decided that Sebastien Squillaci was the ideal man. Although, Squillaci arrived at Arsenal with some pedigree, he failed to deliver anything close to his best in the Premier League.

Squillaci has found playing time limited at Arsenal, with Arsene Wenger even choosing to play Bacary Sagna in centre-half ahead of Squillaci.

DISCLAIMER: This article has been written by a member of the GiveMeSport Writing Academy and does not represent the views of GiveMeSport.com or SportsNewMedia. The views and opinions expressed are solely that of the author credited at the top of this article. GiveMeSport.com and SportsNewMedia do not take any responsibility for the content of its contributors.

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DISCLAIMER

This article has been written by a member of the GiveMeSport Writing Academy and does not represent the views of
GiveMeSport.com or SportsNewMedia. The views and opinions expressed are solely that of the author credited at the top of this article.
GiveMeSport.com and SportsNewMedia do not take any responsibility for the content of its contributors.

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